Got a Covid exposure notification two days after returning back from my cruise

[Stockjock]

As previously mentioned, went on a really fun New Year’s Eve cruise on Summit. Unfortunately, our return flight on Southwest was canceled so we had to find a hotel and spend the night. We were literally about to be on our way to the airport when I checked one last time, just to make sure our flights were not delayed, and found out that it had been canceled with very short notice.  So that’s definitely a recommendation to check often in terms of your return flights.  
 

What was tough is that I got the cancellation right as we were getting kicked off of the ship and I think we ended up being the last ones off because I was trying to find a hotel at the last moment. Eventually they turned the Wi-Fi off and so I had to sit in front of the port and make arrangements.

 

The return flight was elbow to elbow. Southwest had been canceling flights for three straight days and I think people were desperate to get any flight that they could, so there were zero unoccupied seats on this flight.

 

Two days after getting back, I got a notification from the state of California that I had been exposed to Covid. I don’t know if it happened on the ship or on the airplane.

 

I am sick right now and I do have some Covid-like symptoms, although I don’t feel too bad and my antigen tests at home have been turning up negative. I did go to my medical provider’s drive-through PCR test today just to be completely safe.  Hopefully it’s not Covid and just a cold, but we will see.
 

A couple people asked me if it was worth it and my answer was absolutely yes. I’ve been hiding on my couch for two years now and I’m not going to sit here hiding while life passes me by.  We are both fully vaccinated and boosted, so while we certainly don’t want to get Covid, if we do get it we are hopeful that it will be mild.

Edited January 9, 2022 by Stockjock

[CruiseRQA]

I just assume I am exposed to COVID everyday.   Today:  church and then we did grocery shopping.   One has to assume that somebody on a full airplane of 200 has COVID.

 

Tomorrow the car needs service and so I will be sitting at the dealer for about an hour.    

 

Throughout the week I have various meetings and appointments.

 

What are the chances that I won't be exposed to COVID by Friday? 

[Stockjock]

I think the criteria, at least here in California, is that you are within 6 feet of somebody who tested positive for Covid for at least a 15 minute period.

[hawkesbaynz]

Hopefully you will recover fast! Symptoms seem to be minor if vaccinated. 
 

I sat next to my 24yr old nephew at my mothers 90th celebration last Monday. He mentioned that he had been to a NYE party and another attender had since tested positive. He otherwise kept a low profile and everyone bar him was boosted (he had an appointment Thursday). 
 

Lo and behold he had minor viral symptoms and tested positive. I get pinged and told to keep away from the elderly and vulnerable and test daily. Then my mother (who is getting agitated about possible infections for her guests) falls over the hoover and breaks her arm. Guess what elderly and vulnerable person I have in the bedroom next door.!

[Bo1953]

15 hours ago, hawkesbaynz said:

Hopefully you will recover fast! Symptoms seem to be minor if vaccinated. 
 

I sat next to my 24yr old nephew at my mothers 90th celebration last Monday. He mentioned that he had been to a NYE party and another attender had since tested positive. He otherwise kept a low profile and everyone bar him was boosted (he had an appointment Thursday). 
 

Lo and behold he had minor viral symptoms and tested positive. I get pinged and told to keep away from the elderly and vulnerable and test daily. Then my mother (who is getting agitated about possible infections for her guests) falls over the hoover and breaks her arm. Guess what elderly and vulnerable person I have in the bedroom next door.!

LOL, would that not be the way....!!!

 

YET, personally, I would prefer my elderly aunt to have a broken arm than possibly intubation, in the long run. At least they are home.

 

bon voyage

[TeeRick]

16 hours ago, CruiseRQA said:

What are the chances that I won't be exposed to COVID by Friday? 

Chances are pretty high that you will come across people that are virus positive in any public situation right now.

[Stockjock]

11 hours ago, TeeRick said:

Chances are pretty high that you will come across people that are virus positive in any public situation right now.

True, although as mentioned, the app informs one of exposure within 6 feet lasting more than 15 minutes.  So not quite the same as a briefer encounter, nor does it mean one would necessarily get covid with such exposure.

[BoundForSea]

We were on a 12/23 sailing for Christmas on MSC (never again), disembarked on the 30th and on NYE I began mild symptoms, tested on 1/1 and results on 1/2 said I was positive. Lasted a week, two days of Mild Symptoms and then they subsided and then gone. Boosted, etc. We masked at all times out of the cabin except for dinner, crew N95 masked and face shields. Clearly contracted it day 4 or so of the cruise, but have no idea how or where. The ship had no seats blocked off, full dining room, full venues, and it seemed like pre covid crowding. This was a big deal for me as X on our three cruises in 2021 (including the launch in June from SXM) were all very safe. Other two members of my party were and continue to be negative, which is strange as well, but good.  I traveled professionally all throughout 2020 in the thick of it and never contracted it, and then this. Point being- this variant really is very contagious and a pretty elusive deal. 

 

 

 

 

[TeeRick]

11 hours ago, Stockjock said:

True, although as mentioned, the app informs one of exposure within 6 feet lasting more than 15 minutes.  So not quite the same as a briefer encounter, nor does it mean one would necessarily get covid with such exposure.

Agree.  But I was just answering the simple question posed by @CruiseRQA.

[WonderMan3]

The likely area for transmission on a cruise if you are masking indoors and avoiding gatherings or close contacts for more than 15 minutes is going to be the indoor dining spaces as those are the places where you are unmasked for extended periods each day. Covid can transmit across a dining space depending on the movement of the air. That and the possibly of being quarantined on the ship are the two reasons I won’t cruise right now. Dining is one of the highlights of cruising for me and I don’t want to take all my meals in my cabin in order to be safe.

[gold1953]

11 hours ago, Stockjock said:

True, although as mentioned, the app informs one of exposure within 6 feet lasting more than 15 minutes.  So not quite the same as a briefer encounter, nor does it mean one would necessarily get covid with such exposure.

The 6ft 15 minute rule has flown the coop with omicron.  In infects fast

[TeeRick]

3 minutes ago, WonderMan3 said:

The likely area for transmission on a cruise if you are masking indoors and avoiding gatherings or close contacts for more than 15 minutes is going to be the indoor dining spaces as those are the places where you are unmasked for extended periods each day. Covid can transmit across a dining space depending on the movement of the air. That and the possibly of being quarantined on the ship are the two reasons I won’t cruise right now. Dining is one of the highlights of cruising for me and I don’t want to take all my meals in my cabin in order to be safe.

Agree here.  And there are not many decent outdoor dining options.  If I cruised now I would wear my mask in the dining room and just take it off while actually eating the food. At an indoor bar I would mask and probably sip the drink with a straw.  None of this is anywhere near a relaxing and fun vacation situation.  Not to mention a high chance of going into the Red Zone solo.  My next cruise is in August.  I am hoping Omicron is long gone by then.

[JamieLogical]

38 minutes ago, gold1953 said:

The 6ft 15 minute rule has flown the coop with omicron.  In infects fast

 

Yep. I wish we had new guidelines around Omicron. But, clearly, with Omicron being so much more transmissible, the old rules don't apply. I was within about 8 feet of my coworker for about 10 minutes, both of us wearing masks, the day before she tested positive and I was in a complete panic when she got her results. Fortunately, I have since tested negative twice.  But without understanding the new parameters, it's hard not to panic a little at ANY known contact. I know more people who have active COVID right now than I have known who contracted COVID over the past 2 years.

[canderson]

3 minutes ago, JamieLogical said:

But without understanding the new parameters, it's hard not to panic a little at ANY known contact.

It is hard if there's a cruise on the near horizon, that's for sure!  But would it be anywhere near as large a concern if you didn't have a cruise planned?  That question isn't directed at you specifically, BTW.  It's for anyone who is concerned about COVID and cruising right now.

 

In our family, our situations are such that we are far less concerned about actually acquiring a case of omicron, which seems near inevitable at this point, than we are from the fallout of a positive test. Heck of a thing, isn't it?  I think that applies to many who have cruises planned near term.

 

At that point, one has to ask whether there isn't something odd about how this is all being managed.

 

 

[RichYak]

3 minutes ago, canderson said:

In our family, our situations are such that we are far less concerned about actually acquiring a case of omicron, which seems near inevitable at this point, than we are from the fallout of a positive test.

Same here. I am more concerned at this point with the nuisance of contracting Omicron than I am of the symptoms.

[CruiseRQA]

57 minutes ago, canderson said:

 

 

At that point, one has to ask whether there isn't something odd about how this is all being managed.

 

 

Since you asked, in my opinion, yes it is odd how this is being managed. 

 

It would appear that Omicron actually poses little risk to your health.   Vaccinations are of little use against it.   Despite all the efforts to mask and distance we are all going to be exposed and if we contract it the vast vast majority will suffer nothing or the sniffles or a cold.  

 

It is time to accept the reality of this.   I don't know exactly what the goal of the current management plan is  

 

And yes, I am triple vaccinated and to be a good citizen dutifully wear my mask when out and about.  

[TeeRick]

2 hours ago, gold1953 said:

The 6ft 15 minute rule has flown the coop with omicron.  In infects fast

This is an important point.  Personally I would not count on social distancing guidelines set for the previous variants of COVID virus to be as effective against Omicron.  It might be better to use guidelines that were developed in the past for the highly infectious measles virus as the best precaution.

[JamieLogical]

13 minutes ago, CruiseRQA said:

Vaccinations are of little use against it.

 

Vaccinations are of little use in preventing transmission, but they are most certainly incredibly useful at preventing severe disease and hospitalizations. Clearly cruise ships do not want instances of severe disease onboard, since that would greatly tax their medical capabilities.

[gold1953]

57 minutes ago, TeeRick said:

This is an important point.  Personally I would not count on social distancing guidelines set for the previous variants of COVID virus to be as effective against Omicron.  It might be better to use guidelines that were developed in the past for the highly infectious measles virus as the best precaution.

yes, this is where we are.  Assume that everyone you are near has it

[canderson]

1 hour ago, TeeRick said:

This is an important point.  Personally I would not count on social distancing guidelines set for the previous variants of COVID virus to be as effective against Omicron.  It might be better to use guidelines that were developed in the past for the highly infectious measles virus as the best precaution.

That would, I believe, preclude cruising altogether.  And there's the rub. 

 

What are we fighting here; What are the consequences to the fully vaccinated of losing that battle; Do we have any real expectation of winning?  What is "winning" in the face of insurmountable odds for most against avoiding omicron indefinitely, especially aboard ship?

 

I'd venture to say that there are a great many more asymptomatic omicron positives on cruise ships that anyone knows.  It's the new norm everywhere else now.

 

 

Edited January 11, 2022 by canderson

[RichYak]

32 minutes ago, canderson said:

I'd venture to say that there are a great many more asymptomatic omicron positives on cruise ships that anyone knows.  It's the new norm everywhere else now.

And after reading all these "Live from Isolation" play-by-play threads here and on social media, there will be a growing number of those with mild symptoms that simply won't test.

[Islandhop9]

5 minutes ago, RichYak said:

And after reading all these "Live from Isolation" play-by-play threads here and on social media, there will be a growing number of those with mild symptoms that simply won't test.

Hopefully we don't see more ships cancelled as a result of irresponsible people.

 

I do think Celebrity should come out and say we will quarantine you in a balcony if it's going to be more than a day. 

[canderson]

17 minutes ago, RichYak said:

And after reading all these "Live from Isolation" play-by-play threads here and on social media, there will be a growing number of those with mild symptoms that simply won't test.

Or more to the point, perhaps, a growing number of truly asymptomatic positives who have no clue that they would test positive, and therefore have no reason to request a test to begin with.  We are being told now that such people are not uncommon.

 

Where does that leave us?

 

Just walking these thoughts through one step at a time, but may stop at this step to let everyone walk it forward the rest of the way in their own way and come to their own conclusions. 

[Jeremiah1212]

1 hour ago, canderson said:

I'd venture to say that there are a great many more asymptomatic omicron positives on cruise ships that anyone knows.  It's the new norm everywhere else now.

 

Of course. There is also a questionable contact tracing process being used, especially  with cabin-mates of positive people, who are being tested and 'released back into the wild' before it makes sense to do so. 

 

[TeeRick]

52 minutes ago, canderson said:

That would, I believe, preclude cruising altogether.  And there's the rub. 

 

What are we fighting here; What are the consequences to the fully vaccinated of losing that battle; Do we have any real expectation of winning?  What is "winning" in the face of insurmountable odds for most against avoiding omicron indefinitely, especially aboard ship?

 

I'd venture to say that there are a great many more asymptomatic omicron positives on cruise ships that anyone knows.  It's the new norm everywhere else now.

 

 

The virus changes faster than the rules which lag far behind.  And the perceptions.  Especially for cruising.    It will take a very long time for the acceptance of the new norm- that is living our lives with just another circulating respiratory virus around at certain times of the year.  But that is exactly what a highly regarded panel of experts is advising right now (see below link).   Time to say we cannot actually defeat the virus but we have plenty of tools to live with it.  And cruise with it.  But if every positive test is quarantined and isolated on board, with Omicron so infectious, cruising will in a matter of weeks be severely impacted again.

 

https://khn.org/morning-breakout/time-to-shift-covid-response-biden-advisers-argue-this-is-new-normal/